Press Digest - High-yield investment programmes taking northern states by storm

PETALING JAYA: Money games, a.k.a high-yield investment programmes (HYIP), are taking northern peninsula states by storm, attracting investors from all walks of life.
According to a report in China Press today, the HYIP craze has prompted many traders to sell their businesses for cash to invest in the myriad of schemes available; and taxi drivers to stop picking up passengers to become full-time agents to earn commission by recruiting members.
Even teachers are said to be withdrawing their savings to invest in these HYIPs.
In Sungai Petani, Kedah, real estate agents have been approached by property owners who are in a hurry to dispose of their shoplots and factories for cash to invest in returns that are too good to resist.
According to the report, there are no takers for clerical posts advertised by private firms as young people find that they can get better income from money games.
In Penang, many who are aware of the risks involved invest a small sum of their spare cash in HYIPs with the "no heartache if I lose a bit" mentality, but there are also those who, blinded by the high yields, withdraw whatever they can from banks with their credit cards for make-or-break investment.
A 35-year-old Penang woman identified only as Chong in the report said she earned about RM8,000 a month by recruiting members for JJPTR but did not invest any money in the scheme.
A first-time investor, 30-year-old Lee, told the daily that he was aware of the risks involved with HYIPs but was willing to risk losing a few hundred ringgit for the good returns promised by a Canada-based scheme.
He said so far the scheme is making money for him.
Bayan Baru PKR MP Sim Tze Tzin has voiced concern that Penangites' craze about illegal money games might affect the state's productivity.
Penang police commercial crime investigation department chief Asst Comm Abdul Ghani Ahmad said that so far the department had not received any complaint about investment scams.
He advised the public to avoid illegal investment schemes as they can make investors lose all their money overnight.